Segments in this Video

History of Cuisine (03:58)

Early humans and hunter-gatherer societies developed an appetite for meat, forsaking their once almost entirely vegetarian diets.

The Beast(03:17)

The ancestors of modern, domesticated cows had a deadly relationship with prehistoric humans. Tool use, brain size, and language connect to the human appetite for meat.

Where's the Beef?(07:41)

Grass spread over much of the Earth's surface as the planet's climate became cooler and drier. Cows evolved to make use of the resource. Christopher Columbus introduced cows to the Americas; the Atlantic separates cows into two distinct populations.

First Round-Up(04:44)

All cows trace back to one herd. DNA evidence reveals that cows are a human invention. Learn about the first farmers to domesticate cows.

Description

Eating meat made us human...by giving us bigger brains, better tools, and spoken language. The human need for beef has driven history across the hemispheres, but how did we turn an ancient mega-beast into the cow we have today?